In the Shadows
by xfallenangelx
Summary: Why is Hattie such a cruel and evil person? Perhaps she was not always like that. My creation of the secret life of Hattie, the girl who lived in the shadows.
1. prologue

This is the story of Hattie- not the mean and cruel stepsister of Ella but the secret tortured girl trapped beneath Hattie's crude exterior. If you ever read Ella Enchanted, (which I'm sure you have), you know that Ella is beautiful and holds the attention of Char. Hattie is forced to live in Ella's shadow but her problems began at a young age. Ahem…Ladies and Gentlemen, may a present to you a story about Hattie that you never dreamed possible.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters; they are the property of Gail Carson Levine.  
  
On a cold and gusty winter's day, a girl was born into the world with a rare head full of short but lovely none-the-less blonde curls. She did not cry, scream or kick as babies usually go about doing, instead she opened her eyes, two mysteriously blue orbs, and stared at the world around her. She was quite, a beauty- everyone said so. Her mother, a beautiful woman even with her face covered in a sheen of sweat, looked adoringly into her daughter's face and rejoiced. She decided to name her daughter Hattiena called Hattie for short.  
  
Hattie grew up to be a bright and cheerful little girl that lit up faces wherever she went. She had plump rosy cheeks and a dazzling blonde mane of springy curls. Hattie spent her childhood is perfect bliss, playing in the forest and running around with village children. Her parents adored her. Her father was a young and dashing guard for the King of Liosa and her mother, Olga, was the image of a goddess. Hattie also had a little sister named Olivia whom she cherished as a best friend and sister.   
  
The days went by in their little village of Liosa until one day while Olivia and Hattie where playing in the soft green moss of the forest, a terrible thing happened. A glittering ice blue crystal caught Olivia's eye among the green moss and she gingerly picked it up. The crystal was shaped into a perfect sphere and had a glossy surface that swirled with varies shades of blue. It was surprisingly light, almost like a ball. Olivia and Hattie began tossing it around and playing with it. All was well until Hattie missed a catch and the crystal sphere fell and shattered into pieces of the forest floor. Velvety blue mist arose from the fragments and enveloped Hattie and Olivia in a fine blue haze. Hattie was not scared, but instead, she felt a calm, serene peace of mind. A womanly figure emerged from the clouds of mist and as the image got clearer and clearer, Hattie saw what seemed like a slender woman with bright blue wings like a dragonfly. The creature was stunningly beautiful with long silky aquamarine hair and eyes much like Hattie's own. She wore a wispy white dress that floated around her. When she spoke, her voice was like a dream, soft and caressing.   
  
"You have awaken me from my sleep and you will have to suffer the consequences" the mysterious voice spoke.  
  
"For your reckless destruction of my orb, you will lose all your loveliness, your father, and your pure heart. I condemn you to a life a misery!" the voice drawled on.  
  
Even though the words were harsh, Hattie felt peasant and carefree.   
  
"When you wake up, it will all be gone…"   
  
Hattie opened her eyes and quickly shut them again as glaring sunlight burned into her eyes. Shielding her face with her hands, she opened them again and found herself lying beneath a great tree in the middle of the forest.   
  
"Hattie?" an unfamiliar voice called out.  
  
Hattie slowly got up and nearly fell back down when a dizzying rush of pain and nausea hit her. When she finally pulled herself together she saw person coming towards her.  
  
"Hattie?" the unfamiliar though whiny voice said again.  
  
"Olive! Where am I? I demand to know at…"   
  
She stopped in horror because she did not recognize her own voice. 


	2. a wish upon a star

Author's note: I'm terribly sorry to have skipped a whole five years in Hattie's life, but I was too excited to get into the whole Hattie and Ella dysfunctional relationship. So please stick with me for at least a little while. I would say Hattie is now a grey-hearted person. Not black but a slightly muted version of it because she still has a bit of the good heartiness of her childhood.   
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the names except the few I made up myself.  
  
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Five years later...  
  
The carriage ride was quite bumpy and uncomfortable especially with Olive's bony elbow wedged in my side.   
  
I pulled back the green velvet curtains and peeked outside.   
  
Amazing! I haven't been exactly keeping track of where we were and the complete change of scenery took me by surprise.   
  
I saw lush green rolling hills and beautiful wildflowers in the fields with glimmering lakes and ponds.   
  
This was Amonta, a most beautiful place. I am used to the dark and seductive forests of Liosa, but I must say that this isn't a bad change at all.   
  
I sighed and leaned back. Olive, still wiggling, shoved me.   
  
"Hattie, you're on my side! Move over there."  
  
I contemplated arguing with her, but alas it wasn't worth the breath arguing with a girl as stubborn as a mule with the brain capacity of a worm.   
  
Reluctantly, I moved over as much as I could.  
  
"Darlings, you shouldn't quarrel so. I gives mama a headache," my mother, Dame Olga said in her musical voice.  
  
"When's dinner time?" Olive whined. "I'm hungry."  
  
"I'm sure we shall be stopping soon," Olive dear. "Driver! Driver! How far are we from the inn?"  
  
"Just twenty minutes, madam," the coach driver said politely.  
  
"Good."  
  
The inn was a cozy type of place. Not fancy of course, but cozy. It had large stone bricks and a tiny herb garden out in the back. Our room was comfortable if a little cramped and sparse.   
  
There was only one large bed in the middle of the room and a small bedside table with an old lamp. The floor was cold wood and there was only one faded violet rug to cover it.  
  
A family that kept on jabbering in Ayorthaian to each other, to my great displeasure, owned the inn. There was only one young girl around my age whom I had hoped to converse with, but couldn't hardly understand her with her thick accent. She pronounced all her "l's" like a "y" and all I really understood was that her name was Arieda. Some company.  
  
The meal tasted like a feast after all our time in the coach. It was simple enough, but wholesome. After I finished my gooseberry tart and left the table and went outside into the herb garden. Aromatic smells wafted around me and I inhaled deeply.  
  
We were traveling to Frell, land of Kng Jerrold. What we were going to do when we got there, I had no idea. We had almost no money left and couldn't possible survive alone.  
  
I went to sit on a small stone bench near the edge of the tiny pond. The full moon was beautiful tonight, casting an eerie sliver glow upon everything it touched. I looked into the pond at my own reflection. Even the slivery moonlight couldn't mask my ugliness. My hair was an ugly gray-brown color that hung in thin, limp curls. My face was long and thin with a jutting chin and bulging muddy brown eyes.   
  
I slapped the water's surface, sending water flying and soaking the front of my dress.  
  
Why was life like this? I dreamed of becoming a princess and living in a lovely castle far away. I would have a handsome prince that obeyed my every command and people would bow at my feet.  
  
I stared into the inky night sky and laughed at my own foolishness. The world was not my oyster and I would never be a princess.  
  
I caught sight of a large glittering star that shined like the brightest diamond on dark blue velvet.   
  
  
  
"What do I have to lose?" I muttered under my breath and wished upon a star, I suppose. How silly of me.  
  
Author's note: Yeah, it's a really puny chapter, but my mom is stressing me out with PSAT stuff that I "must" work on. Hope you liked the revelations on the mysteries of Hattie. Next chapter will reveal how she got wealthy and meets Ella's father. Probably will be up very soon. 


	3. treasure

Author's note: First of all, I need to clear some things up- in the prologue, the style of writing might be weird to you, but that's because I wanted to give it a fairy tale feel. Please don't think I write like that all the time.   
  
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We left the inn at dawn, and I must say, I do miss the comforts of the inn most dreadfully. The morning was chilly, gray, and wet. Not a single color shone in the sky except the most horrid shades of gray.  
  
I ran as fast as I could to the carriage, but I was still soaking wet when I reached it. I got into the carriage with my feet sloshing wet and my hair plastered to my face. Agh.  
  
I looked outside to see a clumsy kitchen boy stumble about with our bags and luggage oddly balanced on his skinny body. My mother had a tiny pink umbrella and was standing besides the struggling boy shaking her head and waving wildly with one arm. Probably scolding the poor boy for soaking the bag with her fine dresses in it.  
  
When we finally got back on the road (which was quite a feat, I might add), I was very uncomfortable in my wet dress. Olive, it seems like, was too for she squirmed around constantly.  
  
"Olive! Stopping your wiggling!"  
  
"But, Hattie, my dress is sticking to my legs!"  
  
"Mine is too, but I'm not moving am I?"  
  
Olive pouted, her most accomplished talent.  
  
To top it all off, I couldn't even see outside the window because as soon as I untied the curtains, rain would stream in and re-wet my dress. My mood was starting to resemble the weather.  
  
We rode around in silence for around two hours until the carriage suddenly halted. My body flew forward and I received a nasty bump on the head. Olive begin to cry and mum begin to yell.  
  
"What in the world is going on?! We cannot possibly have arrived in Frell already! Driver! Driver!"  
  
"Madam, there seems to be an overturned carriage ahead of us. We cannot possibly get past it. I go and try to move it out of the way."  
  
The rain had not ceased at all since we left this morning, but I looked outside the window anyways, not caring anymore when I received a chilling splash of water.   
  
Dimly, I could make out the shape of a carriage in the rain. There were no horses or people. I opened the door and begin to step outside, but stumbled when Olive grabbed my arm.  
  
"Hattie! Where are you going? It's d-d-dark outside."  
  
"Oh hush, Olive! I'm just going out for a look, that's all."  
  
I stepped outside again when mum called me.  
  
"Hattie! Don't go out of the carriage. It could be very dangerous and it would break my heart if my angels were hurt!"  
  
"Mum, we can't go anywhere until the blasted carriage is moved. We can't stay here forever. I've got to go look."  
  
With that, I just jumped out, ignoring my mother and sister's protests. The first wave of rain came as a shock, but slowly I grew used to the cold, pelting rain.   
  
As I neared the befallen carriage and our driver who was already standing outside, I noticed it was a very fine carriage. The carriage was painted in white with little gold vines along the sides. The glided wheels were made of the finest iron, not wood. One of the doors was open, and I reached inside. The chairs were made out of plush velvet and the curtains were of lavender silk. Not much protection against rain, I thought.  
  
This had to be the carriage of an incredibly rich man.   
  
Since my mum and sister still refused to leave the carriage, the driver, Nortie, and I had to try to straighten the carriage ourselves.  
  
It shouldn't have been a hard task because the carriage was a light two-seater, but strangely it was extremely heavy.  
  
Nortie got low and the ground and put his back against the side and pushed up with all his might while I tugged as much as I could on the sides. Nortie was a rather large man, standing over six feet tall and had decent muscles, but it took him whiles to even get it to budge.  
  
After several attempts in vain, I came up with an idea. I ran into the woods to either side of us and found a large tree branch. I slid the thinnest part under the carriage, and told Nortie to push down as much as he could.   
  
Nortie put all of his weight into it, and slowly the carriage righted its self.   
  
We decided to look in the carriage since we had gotten it righted. I opened the door and climbed inside.   
  
The interior was simply wondrous, with paintings of angels and cherubs on the roof and soft, luxurious white carpet on the floor. I sat on the soft velvet chair for a while, just pretending that this fine carriage was mine. As I relaxed on the plush chairs, I noticed a piece of the carpet was coming apart from the ground in one corner.   
  
I crouched down to have a look. The floor underneath the carpet was smooth polished wood. The rain had slowed to soft drizzle and the moon had come out from behind the rain clouds. I noticed a small twinkle from under the carpet.  
  
I pulled the carpet back further to reveal the source of the glittering. It seemed to be a small bronze thatch. I lifted up the thatch and pulled up. To my amazement, I seemed to be lifting up the entire floor.   
  
It wasn't heavy or rusty, but instead it glided up like a well-oiled compartment.   
  
I looked in and saw a many different sized chests inside. I took out a small one and opened it up.  
  
Even in the dim moonlight, it dazzled like the brightest star and there was no mistaking it.  
  
It was all gold.  
  
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Author's note: Hey I hoped you liked this chapter. I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter up but I'll do my best. 


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